Automatic clutch



AUTOMATIC CLUTCH Filed Feb. 2, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l a; Q ,6 ll l 7 7 4 Sept. 21, 1943. H. K; TIX

AUTOMATIC CLUTCH 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1942 Patented Sept. 21, 1943 p ff2,3'30,160

:1] AUTOMATIC onu'r'on Henry Kz lix, Galveston, Tex. Applieation February 1942, Serial nogizasfzi sjo a sfiwi. 192-105) v This invention relatesv to clutches especially designed for-use in transmitting ower from a. source of power-such as an electric motor, gasengine, steamengine' or motor, to a driven ob-' ject or memberwhereby the driven member may be gradually set in motion afterone-of the aforee said types of motors, hereinafter to be termed the prime mover; has :gained acertain R.2P..

M., thuspreventing the stalling of the prime mover, for the clutch can be'so regulated that it will not act to move the load until the prime mover has been sufiiciently accelerated. I

It is a furtherobject of this invention to P vide a clutchv of the character indicated which is automatic in character, in that it Willclutch upon the prime mover having a certain R.

and will de-clutch automatically if the R. P. M.

of the prime mover, is reducedto a degree where the prime mover would be subjected to strain if the connection between the prime'mover and the load was continued. 1

.,An object of the invention therefore is to prosaid housing, and the parts associated therewith may be connectedto the load and by th term load it is to be understood that reference is made to any element or elementslthat are driven,. such vas an,,automobile, motor cycle or, in fact,

any. mechanism that is to be driven.

' It is'a further object of thisinvention to provide a clutch of the character indicated which, as before stated, is automatic in character for v clutching or de-clutching and operated at predetermined speeds according to the tensioning means employed in retaining the mechanism under control through the employment of springs or the like. I

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a clutch of the character indicatedwhich comprises comparatively few inexpensive parts which are efficient and satisfactory in use and inexpensive to produce and maintain.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consist in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote correspondingfparts'in the severalviews, nd in which-.- v a, r 12.-

Figure 1 illustratesaa View in elevation of a clutchhousing with the clutch members installed. therein; 1 l 1 -Figure 2 illustrates a centrallsectionalview f thereof; Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view ontheline 3-3 0fFig.4; Y 5. .v Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view of aclutch;

'appliedto a modified driving andxdrivensmeme ber and Figure 5 In these drawings I. senses asclutch 1ining,=.2 1 a secondary shoe, 3 an adjustingfscrewi-i l a sec ondary spring, .5 a primary shoe, and 6 .a .crossspring for exerting a pull on the'shoes.

The secondary shoe 2, invthe present: embodiment of the invention; is provided 'With .two apertured cheek pieces-a. holding a, 'pin-S-on which, a driving; dog' 11' is installed, the said idog beingsecuredqena driving shaft [4 operatedby aprimer mover (not shown), but which may be .ofQthe character of those heretofore mentioned. or. otherwise, andithe secondary shoe 2 is'under tension. of the spring 5, towhich referencehas been.made,. that is .connectedto the secondary :shoe through the use-ofstuds 6f orthe like. I 'The adl'usting;

screw 3 is threaded intone edge'ofthe. dog and is retained at diiferent positions. of adjustment.

byvaejamb nut b and it may be set .to regulate} the tension of the secondary spring jJL-onef ofwhich is on eachedgeof the dog, ifhe primary shoe and the secondary shoe ar hingedly con-*- nested throughthelemployment of the arms 0 and d attached to, the primary "and secondary.

shoes, respectively, whichzarmsoverlap anaemv provided with coincidingrapertures to receiveth'e hinge pin 8. The primary and secondary shoes coact with or engage the clutch lining l for transmitting the motion of the dog and secondary shoe to the clutch housing and, as shown; the

clutch housing has a sleeve into which a bushing I I0 is seated and the bushing III is interposed between the sleeve of the housing and the shaft as shown in the sectional view. A pulley or sprocket wheel or gearing ll may be attach d externally of the sleevesothat it is driven thereby and it may beconnected to any load which is to e 3 be driven.

Ordinarily the assembly shown in Figure 1 is arranged to be driven clockwisa although the assembly may be changedto drive the clutch housing in an anticlockwise direction by removmesa-ass a detail View: of themes 'ifieddog. w

tached at any appropriate location externally or internally of the clutch housing and, as stated, power will be transmitted from the element H to any appropriate load. Appropriate connections between these separate assembled parts may be employed and these mechanical means may be in the nature of set screws, keys, splines or the like, and need not, it is thoughtflbe illustrated nordescribed in detail.

It is seen that the dog 1 is driven, andthrough the pin 9 on which the secondary shoe is pivoted the said shoe-moves outwardly and communie cates motion to the primary shoe, both of which shoes are lined. As the dog attains the predetermined R. P. M. to which the cross springsG are set for the centrifugal force attending'its operatiomit will cause the primary shoe to' come in contact with the clutch housing and as the speedof the dog increases and the spring 4 releases the secondary shoe, the said shoe is caused to come in contact with the clutch housing. The higher the R. P. M. the tighter the clutch will holdan'd as'the dogdecreases in R. P.'M. the clutch will disengage automatically, (mate the action of the primary springs 6, thereby causing a free wheelingof the clutch housing.

As seen from an inspection of Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the invention has been modified for use as "a clutch between a driving member or shaft and a shaft adapted to be connected to a load. -In the modified form, the dog 10 has a changed construction for the purposeof balancing the rotating member so that it will run smoothly.

This may be accomplished by providing 'an extension [4a at one end of the dog on one'side of the shaft, or other means may be resorted to such as recessing as at Hi, the edges of thedog to remove the weight of metal at such locations. It is obvious that this may be carried on to a degree which willeffect a balance" on each side of'the shaft. r v

Furthermore, in the modification, Figure 3, the

dog is provided with a rod [6 extending through an aperture or channel I! and springs Baa're connected to the end of the rod and are anchored at their opposite e'nds' to 'theshoes in the samemanner that the'spring 6 is anhho'red to the shoes as shown in Fig. 1. The shoes and their association with the clutch housing in the modification are the same as described in connection with Figure l, but in the modification the dog is mounted on a shaft e which may be regarded as the prime mover, whereas the clutch housing is mounted on a shaft f to be connected to the load. The clutch housing may be connected to the shaft by any well known mechanicalmeans-such-as setscrewsl'lq/ or by a key l8 of well known type. Thuspit will beseen that power is transmitted from the driving shaft through the clutch to the shaft 1 and this can be used in any line shaft or other power transmit-tlngmeans.

Thesprings employed as associated with the dog could be of such strength as conditions of use warrant and theinventor does not wish to belimited with respect to those features.

I claim:

L Ina clutch, 'aclutchhousing, a driving shaft'r'otatable inithe clutch housing, means for communicating the rotary mot-ion of' the shaft bathe clutch housing including primary and "secondary shoes hingdtogetherat one end and ondary shoeyand a member on the housing for transmitting the motion of the housing toa 2. In a clutch, a clutch housing, a driving shaft rotatably mounted in the clutch-housing, a dog on the shaft within ,the housing; primary and secondary shoes'within the housing, means for pivoting the secondary shoeto thedogg means for pivotally connecting the oppositeends of the shoes;ineans connected to the dogand one of the shoes forekerting a pull-on the shoe, resilient 'means' connecting'the shoes for drawing them inwardly against the actionbf centrifugal" force, anda member on the housingfor transmitting themotion 'of thehou'sing to a load.

"3.-In a clutch, a cluthhbusingfla driving shaft rotatably iiiouritd in the clutch housing,

a dogo'n the sha'itwlthin the housing, primary and secondary" shoes" pivoted together at one end, means forpivotally' mounting the secondary shoe on the dog at' the'erid "remotef'ro'm the'ends where the 1" shoes 1 are pivott i'd together, resllent means connecting the shoes between their ends,

and a ineinber on the-housing for transmitting the' 'rno'tion of the housing to a load. 

